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"Lee Was Scrappin'"
A hard-driving young Atwater arrives in Washington in 1981, quickly turning his charm on the press. "He was an attractive figure," says Newsweek's Howard Fineman. "He could wink and nod with reporters, saying 'We all know what a phony deal this is, right?'"

Pages from the Atwater Playbook
With his candidate George H.W. Bush trailing Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential race, Atwater devises tactics to exploit the culture war, and the press's tendency to "play to the cheap seats."

At the Top of His Game
Atwater celebrates the '88 victory with a rockin' inaugural blues concert. And the president he helped elect, George H.W. Bush, rewards him with the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee.

Excerpt from Karl Rove: The Architect
The young Karl Rove was a protégé of Atwater, who helped him out a few times. Here's a glimpse of one incident, from FRONTLINE's 2005 report.

Related Links

NOW: Dirty Politics 2008
The PBS newsmagazine NOW traveled to South Carolina to see how Atwater's dirty tricks are being plied in the digital age.

Lee Atwater's Affidavit
Atwater signed this affidavit in 1973 in response to a Washington Post story accusing Karl Rove of teaching dirty tricks to Republican operatives. Atwater claimed the tactics described in the story were related "as a funny story told during a coffee break."